savage



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. L. SAVAGL 8v W. H. HARRISON.

LETTER BOX.

No. 521,993.- tented June 26, 1894.

we, M WA/MZ a. W 1%wM/ij% Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G.'L. SAVAGE 8: W. H.HARRISON.

.(No Model.)

LETTER BOX.

Patnted June 26,1894.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE...

GRANVILLE L. SAVAGE AND WILLIAM H. HARRISON, OF NEW YQRK, N. Y.

LETTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 521,993, dated June 26,1894.

' pp i filed anuary 2, 1894. Serial No. 495.291. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, GRANVILLE L. SAV-V AGE and WII LIAM I-I. HARRISON,citizens of the United States, and residents'of New York, 1n the countyand State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Letter-Boxes, &c.; and we do hereby declare that the following is afull and exact descript1on thereof, reference being had to theaccompanylng drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,making a part of this specification.

Letter-boxes and other like receptacles are commonly provided with lidsto close the receiving slot in order to protect the contents of the boxfrom the access of rain, snow, insects and the like. These lids orcovers are usually arranged to be held normally in position to close thereceiving slot and must therefore be held open by one hand while theother hand'is engaged in inserting the matter intended to be placed inthe box. In many cases this is a great inconvenience and we havetherefore sought to provide means whereby the lid or cover, when onceopened, shall be held open for a proper length of tlme, say a fewseconds, to permit the insertion of the matter through the slot andwhich shall then operate to close the lid or cover automatically. 7

With this special objectin view, therefore, we have devised themechanism hereinafter described which accomplishes the desired result inan efficient manner and is equally applicable wherever it is desired tohave a detent which shall operate to release the body held by it at apredetermined time and shall require no manipulation.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein this embodiment of our inventionis illustrated: Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a letter-boxequipped with our device, the section being taken on the plane indicatedby the line 'ww of Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a similar view but showing theparts in different positions. Fig. 3 isa transverse section lookingtoward the right of the box, on the plane indicated by the line w-w ofFig. 1. Fig. 4: is a sectional detail view in elevation, from theopposite side presented in Fig. 1, of the .escapement mechanism, thesection being taken on line y y of Fig. 3.

. The box or other structure to which our improvement is applied may beof any suitable shape and made in any suitable manner according to theuses to which it is to be put. We have indicated in the drawingsa streetletter box A substantially of ordinary construction and having areceiving slot B in one end with a lid or cover 0 for the same hinged totheend of the box above the slot B, as at D. A door E is provided asusual to permit the'removal of matter from the interior of the'box.Within the box, and preferably forming a partition wall therein is fixeda plate F which supports the mechanism employed for effecting thedesired purpose. If necessary the side of the box may be dished orbulged, as at G, in order to give the small amount of room required forour'device without encroaching upon the interior space.

Within the space between the wall G and the plate F is mounted uponpivot points f, g, a carrier H which is preferably in the form of adiskand which is free to rotate or oscillate about its axis. I The carriersupports upon one side two diametrically opposite pins h, h, and uponthe other side it has fixed thereto or formed therewith a closed tube Kthe ends of which project equally from the center and which rotates withthe carrier H about the axis of the latter. The tubeK maybe varied inshape according to the necessities of its use and the limitations of thespacein which it is mounted but ispreferably made in somewhat the shapeof an hour-glass, having two chambers Zak, connected by a channel k Oneor more screws 10 may be tapped through the walls of the channel as aconvenient means for permitting the size of the channel to be variedwhen desired. The tube K is preferably filled with any ponderoussubstance which will run freely from one cham- To the door 0 isconnected a rod L which extends rearwardly in the plane of the pins h,

7t, and which has a notch Z adapted to engage with the pins 71., h, inthe manner hereinafter set forth, the carrier with its pins forming adetent for the rod or connector L.

It will be evident that if the carrierand tube are rotated to bring theloaded end of the tube uppermost, with the tube in an inclinedposition,as shown in Fig. 2,the tendency will be for the loaded end ofthe tube to swing downward again and it is therefore desirable toprovide means which shall insure the retention of the tube in suchposition for the time being, while permitting the tube to move in onedirection at the proper time. Accordingly we secure at each end of thetube a tongue or projection 14: or 71: which co-operates with a movablelatch M supported in suitable position on the plate F. For the simplepurpose just referred to this latch might be of any ordinaryconstruction but as we desire it to have an additional function,hereinafter referred to, we prefer to construct the latch asrepresented. in the drawings, wherein the latch piece proper m is formedas a bolt having its lower end beveled oif and being itself supported bya lever m to slide vertically to a limited extent in a guide-way formedby a plate m The other end of the lever m supports a bolt m which has astoptongue m inclined toward the end of the bolt m, as indicated in thedrawings. The up ward movement of the bolt m and consequently thedownward movement of the bolt m, is limited by contact. of the tongue mwith a projecting portion m of the plate m The mode of operation of ourdevice will now be readily understood. The parts are with the lid. 0closed, the tube K standing in a vertical position with all the mercuryinthe lower end,.and the notch Z of the rod or con nector L inengagement with the pin 7t of the carrier H. When the lid 0 is opened,as indicated in Fig. 2, the rod L, by reason of its engagementwith thepin it to the carrier H,

will rotate the carrier of the tube into the position thereofrepresented in Fig. 2, bringing the loaded end of the tube uppermost. Asthe tube is rotated its projection passes under the end of the boltm,lifting the same in. itspassage. As soon asithe projection has passedthe bolt on the latter falls again and therefore holds the tube in theposition represented for the time being, thetendency of the tube beingto rotate backward as soon. as the lifting force is removed from the lid0. As soon as the tube K is brought into or near the positionrepresented the mercury, or whattheempty chamber 70 which is nowthelower one and when a sufficient portion has run from one chamber to theother to overweight the lower chamber and to bring the preponderance ofweight on its side of the axis, the: tube continues its forward movementuntil it reaches once more its normal vertical potion.

.pin 72. thereby permitting the rod to move As the tube and' back andthe lid to close. the lid come to rest the notch Z of the rod L willengage the pin 72. and the parts will therefore be in readiness foranother opera- The rapidity of flow of the mercury or other substancefrom one chamber to the other may be regulated by adjusting the screw orscrews k and. the time during which the lid. is held open will bedetermined accordingly. It is obvious that it no means is elevated bythe passageunder it of the 1 projection k or 70 the bolt m iscorrespondingly depressed to bring its tongue. m into the path of thesaid projection 70 or Wand i so to check instantly the forward. movementIof the end of the tube.

The bolt m drops quickly enough after the passage of the projjectionbeneath it to intercept it on the re- ;bound. represented in Fig. 1 intheir normal position door, or whatever other form the part Omay Thedevice forretaining the movablelid or assume, for a definite time in itsabnormal position is believed to be new of itself and it 'is not desiredto limit its application to: the lid of a letter-box as shown. althoughmany devices have been produced Furthermore,

and are now in use for the purpose of efiectat the expiration of suchtime. Accordingly the use in this description and in theclarms ofspecific terms is not to be considered as imposing specific restrictionsupon: the ini vention but asresorted to only for the sake of clearlydisclosing the best means atpresent known for practicing theinventiomever othershifting weight may be employed for the purpose, runsgradually down into.

. an axis, a tube fixed to said carrier, a ponderous substanceto runfrom one end to theother We claim as our invention- 1.. The combinationof acarrier mountedlon of said tube, a device adapted tobemoved from itsnormal position and to be held tem- 1 porarily in its new position, anda connector intermediate said device and said carrierand adapted toengage the latter whereby said de ICC vice is held until the carriermoves, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combinationof a carrier mounted on an axis, a tube fixed to saidcarrier, a ponderous substance to run from one end to the other of saidtube, a latch to prevent backward movement of said tube and carrier, adevice adapted to be moved from its normal position and to be heldtemporarily in its new position, and a connector intermediate saiddevice and said carrier and adapted to engage the latter whereby saiddevice is held until the carrier moves, substantially as shown anddescribed.

3. The combination of a door, a detent, means to shift said detent at apredetermined time after it has been set, and a connector intermediatesaid door-and detent whereby the detent is set by the movement of thedoor in one direction and whereby the door is held from movement in theopposite direction until the detent is shifted, substantially as shownand described.

4E. The combination of a tube mounted to swing on a transverse axis andcontaining a ponderous substance adapted to run from one end to theother,.a door, and a-oonnector between said door and tube adapted toengage a detent and hold said door inone position and to be disengagedfrom said detent by the movement of said tube, substantially as shownand described.

5. The combination of a carrier mounted on an axis, pins supported bysaid carrier, a tube fixed to said carrier, a ponderous sub-, stance torun from one end to the other of said tube, a notched rod adapted, toengage 6. The combination of a carrier mounted onan axis, pins supportedby said carrier, a tube fixed to said carrier, a ponderous substance torun from one end to the other of said tube, a latch to engage said tubeand hold it from backward movement, a notched rod adapted to engage oneof said pins to be held by said carrier and adapted to be disengagedtherefrom by another pin as the car rier is moved by the shiftingweight, and a door connected to said rod, substantially as shown anddescribed.

7. The combination with a letter-box having a receiving slot and a lidto close the same, of a carriermou nted to rotate on an axis, pinssupported by said carrier, atube fixed to said carrier, a ponderoussubstance to run from. one end to the other of said tube, and a notchedrod connected to said lid and adapted to engage and be. held by one ofsaid pins and to be disengaged therefrom by the other of said pins asthe carrier is moved by the shifting weight substantially as shown anddescribed.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. GRANVILLE L. SAVAGE. WILLIAM H. HARRISON.

Witnesses:

ED. BEEsLEY, H. POW.

